Potential Community Breaking Points: Loss is bittersweet; How can we make loss promote hope?

Expressions of strength: How can we showcase that hazelwood takes care of their own and that memories are important to the community?

(Keywords: Care, Community, validation of community, unity )

Sources of Strength: Faith is a catalyst for healing, outlook on the experience we share. Openness to revisit painful memories, community programs, love is the backbone of support.

(Keywords: Faith, Openness, Connections, Community, Love)

Opportunities: Loss could be a channel for connection, freedom comes through vulnerability, the unity of our past can speak to the potential of our futures.

Paired Down Themes: 3 Ideas

Dormant Assets:

Living Library: How can we capitalize on the dormant assets of the Hazelwood community by telling these stories in a physical library that we can interact with?

Sources of Strength:

Mapped-out-Community Resources: How can we visualize the commodities people of Hazelwood share? Could it be physically mapped? Could this dispel some resentment amongst the public?

Expressions of strength:

Portraits of Hazelwood: How can we showcase the people of Hazelwood through the memories that others have formed about them?

On Sources of Strength in Hazelwood:

We are addressing the issue of unsalvageable loss in Hazelwood which is shaped by the both the loss of physical life due to violence and a community-wide loss created by widespread divestment from the city; our evidences shows that this has manifested in the now broken interdependent relationship and stifled opportunities for growth. This issue matters because a widespread sense of loss will reverberate throughout the community and perpetuate a state of hopelessness. We can use this as an opportunity to realign Hazelwood’s people to their sources of strength as opposed to the normalized sense loss.

On Dormant Assets in Hazelwood:

We are addressing the issue of untapped resilience in Hazelwood, which is shaped by the growing separation between generations and individuals due to scattered resources (such as school districts); our evidence shows that there is little grounds for connection, this matters because people are less likely to depend and seek to relate to each other in Hazelwood. We are framing this as an opportunity for hidden strengths to surface and thrive.

On Expressions of Strength in Hazelwood:

We are addressing the issue of unexpressed and forgotten allegiances on the individual and community scale, which is shaped by the lack of communication and absent record of community care; our evidence shows the manifestation of individual resilience is masked by the neighborhood’s infrastructural decay and resulting desperation for basic needs. This matters because the true strength of Hazelwood’s people can not thrive in these conditions. We are framing this as an opportunity to expose and actualize the immense power of Hazelwood’s people.

We developed the above issue statements using a template provided in the Service Innovation Handbook by Lucy Kimbell